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Anyone can claim to be a web designer and offer their services to people who need a site. In fact, anyone can make money as a web designer, even if their skills aren’t great. If you want to take a step above that and turn it into a real career in which you can not only make the money you need to live, but enough to live well, this article has the tips you need.

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One great way to get your feet wet is to create blogs. You can provide website templates for people using sites like Blogger at low cost. This gives you the ability to learn how HTML, CSS and graphics work while still being paid for your time. The next step is to learn how to create WordPress templates, which are a bit more complicated. Once you have mastered that, you will find it easy to make the switch to designing stand-alone websites.

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Choosing the right clients is as important as the work itself. If you select clients in a choosy manner, you will end up with fewer headaches. On top of that, you will be able to pick work which allows your talents to shine. If you accept any offer thrown at you, you may end up creating subpar work you wouldn’t want to include in your portfolio. Select clients who are themselves reputable, have sites you are excited to design and are likely to pay on time and in full. >

Expanding your abilities means making more money. For example, if you can also create social media sites and apps, or you at least know someone who can do it for you as a subcontractor; you will be able to keep your client working with you beyond the initial website. Offer content creation, email list administration and other marketing opportunities.

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Staying on top of the work you have already done can provide you with new work opportunities. For example, let your past clients know when new websites or technologies could be integrated with their sites. For example, you could mention Constant Contact and its newsletter services and how they could help your client reach out to a broader audience. Your clients will appreciate you keeping them up to date, and you will appreciate the additional work.

Audience

Marketing yourself is the best way to keep new work coming in. Post ads on Craigslist to reach out to the broadest audience, but also let people know locally that you are available. You can pop a blurb into your child’s school newsletter, or post an ad on the drug store’s community board. Even putting an ad in the local paper can’t hurt.

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With these tips, you are ready to discover if becoming a web designer is truly for you. If it is, then use these ideas to become a successful, profitable entrepreneur. The sites you design will stand on the web as a testament to your abilities, and you’ll have the income you need to live comfortably every day.

Comments

Where Can I Find A School In Norther Virginia To Became A Web Designer? I would like to be a web designer but I don’t know in what school in norther virginia I can find this degree.I live in Norther Virginia at 15 min from DC.

Of these 3 programs, the George Mason degree will command the best jobs, and better salaries than the other two options. But, if you’re looking to stay in Northern Virginia (and not venture too far South, or into the city) These are your options.

You do not need either if you are willing to put in the work. There are many web hosts that provide step-by-step assistance in web building. I suggest that you compare each host feature-by-feature then dollar-for-dollar to get the best match for your needs. The host that I chose also provides features to analyze work for optimal performance on the search engines.

How Do I Get This Creepy Guy To Leave Me Alone Forever? He posts creepy stuff about me on social media sites, and he always tells people about “us”. It pisses me off because there is no “us”, it’s just him in his stalker fantasy land. He thinks he’s all modest and charming too and when I tell him to piss off he talks about how cruel I am… How can I get him to just leave me alone for good?!
I’m considering punching him in the face, honestly. I know I’ll get in trouble, and I’m willing to take responsibility for it.

and I installed it fine but decided to try to insert my own picture into the top “photograph”. I found the file in the extracted zip that was that photo png, and proceeded to add my pic to it in photoshop and put it back in the folder to re upload. I’m guessing thats the wrong way to go about it, because when I tried to re upload it, I got an error message saying : “stylesheet is missing” I deleted it. I want to still have my own pic put into the theme and have it work on my blog. Any suggestions? Or anyone who can help me out inserting the photograph and sending the zip back to me to upload? I’m a newb ?

The best social media sites to plug your business really depends on the business you’re in. With all businesses, I would at the very least create a Facebook Page & Twitter account. If you sell products, use Pinterest which is closely gaining in Twitter as being one of the most popular social media sites. If you are business to business, LinkedIn is a great site to work with where you can interact with others in a professional environment. If you are business that sells to your community, Yelp is a great place to list your business, get integrated into their app and get reviews.

Social media (here and social networking sites) enhances my life by introducing me to people that I would never come into contact with,off-line.
It has greatly helped me in understanding other views,including Religious and Cultural views.

I have met some incredible people,on-line,including my girlfriend.
I’ve also come into contact with some cyber-stalkers and trolls,but they are of little importance to me.

That’s the individual though,as for society in general?
I think it’s helping most people break through the cultural boundaries that have been set up and is making most people’s lives better.
People are able to talk to other people from almost anywhere now,and it’s creating a true global village.

Social Networking Site? I want to join a new social network site..I have a Facebook and a Twitter..I don’t want MySpace..I like how on Twitter you can follow people and post things too..any ideas? THANKS:)

http://www.stribe.com/
Create, publish and manage easily your community on your website. Get your own social network in a very short time.

http://www.pearltrees.com/
Pearltrees lets you organize the web your way. Use pearltrees to keep at hand the contents you find everyday on the web, to discover new contents from people who share your interests, to drive through your own web.

http://swimwire.com/
Your single Swimwire page can list and link all your online profiles, making it easier to stay connected. Your free profile can automatically connect with sites such as Facebook, Twitter, Flickr and YouTube to bringing all your social networks together to one place. Help people find you, anytime, anywhere, online.

http://www.bebo.com/
Bebo is a social media network where friends share their lives and explore great entertainment. Members can stay in touch with their College friends, connect with friends, share photos, discover new interests and just hang out.

http://www.socialgo.com/
SocialGO lets you easily create and run a feature-filled social networking website. You choose who can join, what they can do and how it looks. The best part is it’s free to get going.

http://socialtext.com/
Discover, create and use social networks to get things done Socialtext People gives you social networking with your colleagues at work.

http://www.mixtt.com/
Instead of being centered on individuals, MIXTT is centered on groups. Essentially, you and your group of friends meet another group of friends.

http://www.sixent.com/
Sixent makes it easy for people to share their lives online the way they want by giving users the ability to create multiple profiles to show different sides of themselves to different people. These profiles are tied to pages, groups and content (like blog posts, photos and videos) that users can selectively share with their diverse contact network.

http://mixxt.de/
mixxt helps you create your own social network. Just as you would like it: Design, features, lots of privacy and many more options.

http://www.friendster.com/
Friendster is a leading global online social network focused on helping people stay in touch with friends and discover new people and things that are important to them.

http://en.netlog.com/
On Netlog, you can create your own account with pictures, blogs, a guestbook, and much more. You can find people from your area, expand your friends network, or find people having the same interests as you.

sixgroups.com/
Six groups enables you to start your own community, about every topic, available to everyone – it’s fast, easy and for free.

http://rstat.us/
Microblogging has taken the world by storm. Millions of people around the world now share their thoughts with friends, family, and random strangers every day.

http://www.youfig.com/
Band together with friends and colleagues to exchange ideas, network, and collaborate in real time private communities.

Social Networking Site: an online community that allows you to create a profile, add friends, share ideas and events, and communicate with other members. The most popular social networking site (and the most-visited website in the world), Facebook, allows you to reconnect and stay in touch with friends, family, classmates and colleagues.

Social media marketing is the best way to enhance your site or page. you thought well but to perform social media marketing on your site or page you need to create a page on social media like facebook google and other social media and share it to others. i think this is the best way to perform social media marketing. you can find some hints on http://www.mediamister.com this site.

The ultimate objective of social media and blogging is link building and brand reputation management. Do not dive into social media with the expectation that the community is going to receive your messaging with open arms. If you become too pushy or spammy with your online interactions, you are making a huge mistake. To be a part of the online conversation, it is important that you listen first and then respond once you have something valuable to contribute. Social media is about community. If you aren't a part of the community in the real world, chances are you won't be online either. Reputation works both ways.

The ultimate objective of social media and blogging is link building and brand reputation management. Do not dive into social media with the expectation that the community is going to receive your messaging with open arms. If you become too pushy or spammy with your online interactions, you are making a huge mistake. To be a part of the online conversation, it is important that you listen first and then respond once you have something valuable to contribute. Social media is about community. If you aren't a part of the community in the real world, chances are you won't be online either. Reputation works both ways.

What Is The Difference Between Web Designer, Web Developer, And User Interface Designer? I’m a graphic design student and I really want to end up building websites with coding. So do the “Web Designers” not actually make the websites, just the layout? I want to create the layout since I am learning the design aspect also for visual appeal, and want to code it. Would that make me a web developer, or even a user interface designer?

I’m confused because they all sound very similar to me. Also I’m enrolled in a 2 year program and my teacher says it is better than the 4 year program at the University. Would I have trouble finding one of these jobs with my associates?

Web designers design the layout of a website. A web developer goes a little bit above that and uses coding scripts like Javascript, PHP, and stuff like that to make dynamic pages. A user interface designer designs “interfaces” for programs.

So those are different examples. Why they sound so similar is that they’re all a vast part of media and sharing today. You should go with Web Developing if you plan on coding dynamic or “changeable” pages. If you want to straight design templates then go with Web design. It sounds like you like doing this that are website based. Check at your local university. I recommend university programs if you’re very passionate about it.

can you tell me your likes and dislakes?
I like the fact that I can do this form anywhere, I like this being a creative outlet for me, I like that the web field is blowing up, I like that people depend on me to make their businesses run.

I dislike that many of us are overworked and wear too many hats, I dislike the fact that many companies can only afford to hire one of us or hire on a contract basis, I dislike people that understand what goes into making what they think is a small change that actually requires hours worth of additional work, I dislike that every dork with a Coldfusion book and without a degree has saturated the market with mediocre shoddy work and make us all look bad when they advertise themselves as web designers. There should be a board that certifies us based on education and portfolio size to weed out the losers.

And finaly where did you go to college?
I went to college at Ferris State and studied Visual Communications.

Suggest A WordPress Template? Free or cheap wordpress template – I need one. I am planning to create a website and put my stuff, write a few articles etc. I am not particularly looking for blogging. I might write some memoirs, music related articles, history etc.

I tried joomla etc. But I felt they are difficult and wordpress is quite easy to configure and maintain. However wordpress is heavily blog-oriented. And then I figured if I get a good template wordpress would be enough for me. I am not so proficient to write code in PHP.

So can anyone help me by pointing some wordpress template for my requirements. I searched a lot, wasted a lot of time. Please help.

If you don’t want your site to look like a blog the best themes to use are what are called “magazine style themes”. These are very popular among WordPress users and many of them are very configurable which makes it easy to put your own stamp on your site’s appearance.

There seems to be two flavors. First, there are the purely graphical folks that work on web site layouts and graphic art, collectively known as ‘creative’. Obviously, this requires more of an artistic / visual side. Second, there are designers that bring the visuals to life with web technologies like ASP, AJAX, JavaScript and many other tools. This requires a balance of a structured thinking and creativity.

Both types of designers should expect to stay current on design trends and techniques.

The salary is all over the place depending on the market. In Dallas/Fort Worth (Texas), you can expect to make between $50-65K annual salary.

Here’s a general Job Description for a Web Designer:
Designs and constructs web pages/sites including incorporating graphic user interface (GUI) features and other techniques. Maintains and provides ongoing design of the website, promos and ad banners. May require a bachelor’s degree in a related area and 2-4 years of experience in the field or in a related area. Familiar with standard concepts, practices, and procedures within a particular field. Relies on limited experience and judgment to plan and accomplish goals. Performs a variety of tasks. Works under general supervision; typically reports to a manager. A certain degree of creativity and latitude is required.

If you are using self-hosted WordPress (that is, you have downloaded it from wordpress.org and installed it on your own server space) you can find hundreds of free templates to use. You can also use the default template as a base for building your own.

If you are using wordpress.com, which is the hosted service, you cannot install your own template. There are a number of templates to chose from however the HTML cannot be changed.

BUT, even so, wordpress.com allows you to change headers and images, and also to customise the template’s CSS. Using the CSS you can achieve just about any look you want.

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